“Little Huang, you finally evolved successfully!” Nelliel looked at Lin Huang, who had broken free from the Cocoon of Metamorphosis, her eyes filled with excitement and relief.
Hearing her voice, Lin Huang nodded gently.
His gaze immediately shifted toward Nelliel as he carefully examined the injuries she had suffered while protecting him.
Several burns of varying severity covered her slender antelope-like body.
They were obviously the result of forcing her spiritual pressure outward to resist the corrosive poison mist released by the Toad Hollow.
The most horrifying injury, however, was across her back.
A massive wound over a meter long stretched across her waist, with several deep bloody punctures scattered throughout the torn flesh.
Those injuries had clearly been inflicted by the Giant Octopus Hollow’s enormous tentacles.
To ensure his successful evolution, Nelliel had endured all of that alone.
“You’ve worked hard, Nelliel.
Get some rest.” “I’ll handle the rest.” Lin Huang’s voice was calm and gentle.
As he spoke, he lightly rubbed one of the horns on his Hollow mask against Nelliel’s neck, expressing his gratitude in the manner intelligent Hollows often communicated trust.
Afterward, he slowly stretched his newly evolved seven-meter body.
His silver scales reflected the pale light of Hueco Mundo.
At the very tip of his tail, the reverse scale shaped like a sword blade gleamed with an icy brilliance.
Raising his head, Lin Huang fixed his gaze upon the Giant Octopus Hollow floating high above.
Fighting spirit blazed within his eyes.
“Little Huang, be careful!
That’s a Giant Hollow!” Nelliel hurriedly warned him.
However, just as the words left her mouth, she suddenly sensed the spiritual pressure emanating from Lin Huang.
Her eyes widened.
Although he had only just evolved into a Powerful Hollow, his spiritual pressure had already reached a level comparable to her own.
She herself was already approaching the threshold of becoming a Giant Hollow.
The corners of Lin Huang’s mouth curled upward beneath his Hollow mask.
His body had doubled in size.
His spiritual pressure had increased by more than tenfold.
For the first time since arriving in Hueco Mundo…
He finally possessed the confidence to fight head-on.
“ROAR!” High in the sky, all six eyes of the Giant Octopus Hollow locked onto Lin Huang.
A furious roar erupted from its enormous mouth.
This insignificant Powerful Hollow had dared to sever eleven of its tentacles immediately after evolving.
Its rage had already reached its limit.
Whoosh!
Without warning, the Giant Octopus Hollow spat out a massive amount of black ink.
The instant the ink mixed with the dense reishi filling Hueco Mundo’s atmosphere, it ignited violently.
Countless blazing fireballs descended toward Lin Huang and Nelliel like a rain of flames.
Lin Huang remained perfectly calm.
His tail flicked sharply.
The reverse scale at its tip shone brilliantly like a divine blade leaving its sheath.
Purple spiritual pressure instantly gathered around the blade-shaped scale before rapidly extending outward.
In only an instant, a massive spiritual pressure blade over five meters long materialized.
As his tail swung with astonishing precision, the enormous blade effortlessly sliced apart every incoming fireball.
The sea of flames split into two torrents that swept harmlessly past both sides of his body.
This was the new ability he had gained after evolving into a Powerful Hollow.
The Sword Scales.
By using the unique reverse scale at the end of his tail as a medium, he could condense his spiritual pressure into an incredibly sharp spiritual blade.
Seeing its attack neutralized so easily, the Giant Octopus Hollow became even more enraged.
It immediately spat out another torrent of ink.
This time, however, every drop landed upon its remaining tentacles.
In the next instant…
More than twenty enormous tentacles burst into flames.
Each one became a burning whip that lashed toward Lin Huang from every direction.
Instead of showing fear…
A look of excitement appeared in Lin Huang’s eyes.
“Perfect.” Ever since awakening in Hueco Mundo as a tiny ten-centimeter snake Hollow, he had spent every day hiding, fleeing, and struggling to survive.
Only after meeting Nelliel had he finally begun steadily growing stronger.
Now…
He had finally become a Powerful Hollow.
He finally possessed enough strength to protect himself.
All the frustration and helplessness he had endured over the past several weeks erupted at this very moment.
What better way to announce his arrival than by killing a Giant Hollow?
With a fierce roar, Lin Huang swung his sword-like tail repeatedly.
The purple spiritual blade flashed horizontally and vertically, colliding continuously against the burning octopus tentacles.
Enhanced by the blazing ink, each tentacle had become significantly stronger, faster, and tougher than before.
Surrounded by more than twenty flaming tentacles, Lin Huang relied on both the sharpness of his Sword Scales and the agility of his serpentine body, constantly weaving between attacks while preventing himself from becoming completely surrounded.
Even so…
A Giant Hollow was still a Giant Hollow.
Its spiritual pressure naturally exceeded that of an ordinary Powerful Hollow.
Its immense body and overwhelming number of tentacles allowed it to launch relentless attacks without pause.
Although Lin Huang successfully severed another seven or eight burning tentacles during the fierce exchange…
He was ultimately struck squarely across the back by three of them.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The flaming tentacles slammed into him like red-hot steel whips.
His smooth silver scales instantly became charred black.
The flesh beneath them burned until it emitted the sickening smell of scorched meat.
“AAARGH!” The intense pain forced a furious roar from Lin Huang.
“Die!” Until now, he had continuously avoided direct hits from those blazing tentacles.
But now…
Since he was already badly injured…
There was no longer any reason to retreat.
His spiritual pressure erupted once again.
The blade extending from his Sword Scales became even denser and noticeably longer.
Abandoning all attempts to evade, Lin Huang suddenly twisted his body before launching himself high into the sky.
He soared directly over the Giant Octopus Hollow’s head.
Then…
With every ounce of strength in his body…
He swung his sword-tail downward.
At almost the exact same moment…
The Giant Octopus Hollow released the enormous blast of blazing ink it had been charging.
The two attacks collided.
Boom!
Lin Huang was completely swallowed by the raging flames.
His burned body was blasted backward through the air.
However…
At the exact instant he was sent flying…
The Giant Octopus Hollow’s enormous body was cleanly split into two from head to tail by the immense spiritual pressure blade extending from his Sword Scales.
Just like that…
A newly evolved Powerful Hollow had defeated a Giant Hollow in a direct confrontation.
“Hiss…” Lin Huang himself had paid an equally terrible price.
Burns covered nearly his entire body.
Every inch of his flesh screamed with unbearable pain.
He crashed into a deep pit in the sand, feeling as though he had been thrown into boiling oil.
“Ptooie!” Just as the pain became so intense that he could barely keep his eyes open…
A cool sensation suddenly spread across the top of his head.
The unbearable burning immediately eased.
Slowly opening his eyes, Lin Huang saw Nelliel kneeling beside him.
She had opened her mouth and was continuously spitting large amounts of crystal-clear saliva over his burned body.
Whoosh!
An even larger stream poured down like heavy rain.
Within moments, nearly his entire body had been soaked.
“Holy crap…
that’s way too much.” As Nelliel’s saliva covered him, the burns rapidly began cooling.
The unbearable pain quickly faded.
The healing effect was astonishing.
The charred scales around his neck slowly peeled away.
The blackened flesh beneath them gradually detached.
Fresh scales and new flesh visibly regenerated underneath.
This was one of Nelliel’s unique healing abilities, using her saliva to greatly accelerate recovery from injuries.
“Blegh…” Having expelled so much saliva at once, Nelliel suddenly began dry heaving.
To Lin Huang’s complete disbelief…
She shoved one of her front hooves into her own mouth and started pressing against the back of her throat, obviously trying to force herself to produce even more healing saliva.
Seeing that ridiculous scene…
Lin Huang’s eyelids twitched violently.
“Alright, alright!” “That’s enough!”